Essays in Natural History and Agriculture | Page 7

for why should the larger number of fish
ascend the smaller river except for such a reason?

I am of opinion that Salmon do not grow so fast in the sea as is
generally supposed. It is here generally believed that the Smolts, which
go down in the spring, come up again in the August or September
following, five or six pounds in weight; and George Little, Esq., in his
evidence states that as his opinion, but he does not give any other
reason for it than this: "That the Grilse that ascend the river in June
weigh one and a half or two pounds, and that those which come in
September weigh five or six pounds," --but opposed to this supposition
is the evidence of Mr. Mackenzie, before referred to (second Parl.
Report, p. 21), who states that he caught in March a Grilse Kelt which
weighed three and a half pounds, that he marked it with a brass wire,
and let it go, and that in the March following he caught it again a
Salmon of seven pounds weight. Now a fish which weighed three and a
half pounds as a Kelt, would weigh five pounds or six pounds when in
high condition the summer before, and if this were so, which I believe
all persons who are acquainted with Salmon will admit, the fish would
have gained only one pound or two pounds in fifteen or eighteen
months. Besides, if Salmon grew as fast as is stated and believed by
many persons, the breeds of different years would vary very much in
weight, whereas it is known to everybody that we have them of all sizes,
from five pounds to forty pounds; and it is contrary to analogy to
suppose that a fish which is two or three years in arriving at the weight
of as many ounces, should in two or three months acquire as many
pounds. There are, however, two or three things about which all
persons agree in opinion--one of these is: that the breed of Salmon is
decreasing every year, and that the great cause of this decrease is the
want of protection, and a consequent destruction in the spawning
season. The complaint on this head is universal from north to south;
from the Shannon to the Tweed, the cry is--"Protect the breeding fish,
or we shall very soon have none to protect." And yet, although the
destruction of the spawning fish, and the destruction of the fry in the
Spring, are the chief reasons for this alarming falling off, no one seems
able to devise a remedy; no one seems inclined to make the necessary
sacrifices for so desirable an object, and without these sacrifices it
would be absurd to expect the fish to become plentiful; and instead of
furnishing an abundant supply of cheap and wholesome food to all
classes, which they certainly would do if the fisheries were properly

regulated, they will either become wholly extinct, or so rare as to be
found only at the tables of the wealthy. James Gillies, in his evidence,
states that his brother had in one night killed in the Tweed four hundred
Salmon at one landing-place in close time; and all the reports are full of
statements showing how unceasing and universal is the persecution the
Salmon undergo, not only when in season, but at all times, and most of
all when every one should do his utmost to preserve them--I mean
when they are spawning. In this neighbourhood the properties generally
are so much divided, and so few good fish are allowed to ascend the
river, that no one has any interest in protecting them in close time, and
the consequence is, as might be expected, that all sorts of contrivances
for taking them are resorted to: they are speared and netted in the
streams by day and night; they are caught with the fly, they are taken
with switch hooks (large hooks fixed to the ends of staves), or with a
triple hook fixed to the end of a running line and a salmon rod; if the
river becomes low, parties of idle fellows go up each side of it in search
of them, and by stoning the deeps, or dragging a horse's skull, or large
bone of any kind through them, they compel the fish to side, and there
they fall an easy prey, in most cases where the pool is of small extent.
In a river so small as the Ribble, it will be readily believed that not
many fish can deposit their spawn in safety, when practices of this kind
are followed almost openly, and when no one feels a sufficient interest
in the matter to put a stop to them. A single party of poachers killed
four hundred Salmon